Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts
Get Simon Calder’s Travel email
Hundreds of package holidays in August are on sale for under £400 from airports across the UK – far lower than normal prices for the height of the summer season.
Flights to Croatia and Spain this month are selling for £16 or less, one-way.
Research by The Independent has found a week in Turkey, departing from Manchester on Friday 9 August, for just £358 per person for a family of four – staying at Club Exelsior in the resort of Marmaris.
Later in the month – but still in time before the return to school at the start of September – a holiday in Lanzarote is priced at only £361 from Liverpool on 25 August.
These deals, with Jet2 Holidays, include flights (with luggage), transfers and self-catering accommodation.
Rival Tui is also selling sub-£400 package holidays, which are very unusual for peak season, such as a trip from Manchester to North Macedonia on 14 August, for £353 per person.
Some flights are also being sold off very cheaply as tour operators and budget airlines strive to fill seats.
On Friday 9 August, Tui is selling Birmingham-Palma flights for £90 return – as well as Cardiff to Dubrovnik returns at the same price.
Later in August, prices are plummeting. On Friday 16 August, for example, Ryanair is flying from London Stansted to Osijek, Croatia, for £15 one way. Europe’s biggest budget airline is also flying from Prestwick in southwest Scotland to Palma de Mallorca for £16.
The main driver appears to be a slump in demand due to pressure on household budgets – as well as a reaction on some very high air fares and holiday prices since the end of the pandemic.
In April, Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary told The Independent he expected fares to rise by 5 to 10 per cent this summer because of the shortage of aircraft.
But the increasingly frequent seat sales by budget airlines suggest they are finding it difficult to fill their planes.
Ashley Quint, director of the Hertfordshire travel agency Travel Time World, said: “Summer has been somewhat a tale of two halves. Incredibly busy in the shoulder seasons, especially to Greece and Italy, but a distinct move away from them at the height of the season.
“There’s been a big swing to places like Mauritius where it’s cooler – and comparative good value in that sort of market.
“Whether some of the negative publicity from the Spanish islands has caused some kickback is still a bit questionable. It will be interesting how the summer is reflected on, and whether event of the last couple of years have made an impact.”
The travel industry is hoping lower prices will trigger a surge in last-minute sales.
Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of the Advantage Travel Partnership, said one in four bookings last week across her travel agency network was for a departure in August.
“The British summer isn’t turning out to be one of the best and there are still some great deals around if you want some guaranteed warmth and sunshine,” she said.
“Spain, Greece and Turkey are amongst the most popular destinations to travel to this year. If you are looking to travel further afield, there is still plenty of availability to travel long haul too with Asia, and in particular Thailand, continuing to be strong sellers across our travel agent network, along with the US and the Caribbean.”
Some inbound flights at the end of the summer holiday, though, are extremely high. On Sunday 1 September, the cheapest Malaga-Manchester flight on Ryanair is €301 (£259).
From Preveza in Greece to London on the same date, the Jet2 fare is €658 (£565) one-way, while easyJet is charging €680 (£584).
All prices researched direct with holiday companies and airlines on Wednesday 7 August
Source: independent.co.uk
